Loneliness Isn't So Bad
by WATERMELON-S33DS
Summary: Eli must've had friends on the surface, at least one or two people outside of his family that cared for him. But... what happened to them when he had to leave?
1. Chapter 1

Eli used to have friends. Two of them. A spunky girl with black, curly hair, her name was Shannon. The other was a boy named Jack, he was laid back with wavy brown hair, freckles littered his cheeks and he loved to laugh.

That's how Eli remembered them.

He also knew he'd have to give up his life to protect an unknown world.

He tried to keep himself as distant from people as possible, but Shannon and Jack refused to take that. They found Eli sitting by himself one day and made him play with them, this was back in the third grade when Eli's mothers had taken him out of private school and switched him into public school, his mother noticed how Eli didn't have any friends in his old school, and after the disappearance of his father she knew it'd be good for the boy to try and fit in with a new crowd, maybe find a friend or two. The plan worked, Eli seemed a lot happier, broke out of that shell he always seemed to have, invisible walls that stopped him from talking with other kids.

Eli adored Jack and Shannon, they were the best friends he could ever have, which is why it hurt him so much to leave them.

It started in the eighth grade.

Everytime the two called to invite him places, wanting to hang out, he'd decline. He always had excuses, like his mother needed help! He had to work! Family... stuff...

Those were Eli's go-to excuses.

Shannon and Jack eventually ended up with the message that Eli didn't like hanging out with them anymore.

Even at school the navy haired boy found himself dodging his friends, trying to break what seemed like an invincible bond between the three of them, finding excuses to be elsewhere during given breaks during the school day. Sometimes he'd say his grades were slipping then he'd run to the library, or say he promised to help a teacher clean erasers or something.

Eventually Shannon and Jack began making excuses to leave Eli behind.

By the end of grade eight, Eli had no one. Nobody except for his secret, little, orange companion.


	2. Chapter 2

"Out of the way!" Simple words with cruel tones and meaning. Laughter mixed with the sound of Eli behind shoved against a locker.

Things like this became normal.

He grew used to the feeling of his skull being knocked back into a thin metal wall, hair acting as a thin and useless cushion.

People throwing insults and mean-spirited comments his direction.

He had learned how to twist his body to find maximum comfort when shoved into a locker, pulling his limbs to a certain shape that allowed the most room for him to shift when and arm or a leg fell asleep.

Elbows and knees caked with blood from trips in the school parking lot were something he expected, he'd actually be surprised if that didn't happen once by the end of the day.

_Scabs and bruises._

_Trips and Falls._

_Trips and Falls._

_Trips and Falls._

_Scabs and bruises._

_Trips and Falls._

_Bloody nose, and swollen eyes._

The best way to sum up Eli's weeks, sometimes he'd hum those words to himself when he admired the bully's marks to the tune of _Head and Shoulders._

Mistreatment was a normal thing, as everyone thought the boy was mad.

He'd constantly be seen whispering over his shoulder, whispering to someone who wasn't there.

Saying things like:

_"I'm alright, bud. Don't worry about me so much..."_

_"Calm down, remember what dad said."_

_"I already told you... I-I'm... I'm fine..."_

He'd always hide in the bathroom after getting lunch from the cafeteria, sometimes people could hear him laughing or talking in the stalls... almost as if he had somebody with him, somebody who never replied to what he'd say.

Nobody knew of that tiny friend he carried.

Burpy always gave concerned chirps whenever his master was hurt by others. Eli would give a weak but reassuring smile to the slug.

The violence towards Eli didn't bother him that much, since he knew he'd be free of it soon.

Once he turned 15 he'd be out of this place, in a new world full of wonder.


End file.
